Lush ✵ Luke Castellan

iii. Brand New City

" Tell me what you took,
what'd you take? I think
my fate is losing its patience
I think the ground is pulling
me down I think my life is
losing momentum I think
my ways are wearing me
down "

DINNER HAD PASSED, and Persephone was amazed by the way you could eat and drink whatever you wanted by simply asking the dish for it. She yearned to make a joke about how Percy would have a field day with his blue pasta, but with the uncertainty of his well-being, she didn't.

Luke and the boy next to him had a good laugh from Persephone's expression when she saw it, but they fell when she stomped on their feet.

Luke avoided her eyes for the rest of dinner.

Soon, the sun was setting, and Persephone had to go into the cabin.

It turned out, the boy she met earlier, Roman, wasn't a child of Hermes. He was a child of Apollo, he just loved hanging out in the messenger gods cabin. She tried not to be disappointed by that.

"So... I'm supposed to sleep on the floor?" Persephone deadpanned later in the night. She stared at Luke like he was crazy.

"It's only because your unclaimed. Usually the process doesn't take too long." Luke explained with a sigh, "I'll look around for some extra blankets." The boy nodded, looking around the cabin.

"It's fine, I guess." Persephone shook the idea off. She didn't want to be any more of a burden than she already was.

"You sure?" Luke asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "It's really no problem—"

"Luke! Valerie keeps taking my pillow!" A child cried out, running up to the boy.

"It was mine first, you butt!" Another child retorted in the distance.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yes-huh! See, it even has the stain on it from when I snuck ravioli in from dinner and split it!"

"You're not even supposed to have—" The child ran back to the other one, her voice drowning out as she got further.

"I have to... uh—" Luke blinked at Persephone.

"You do that." The girl smiled, and watched as he walked away to settle whatever dispute the kids were having.

Sighing, Persephone sat on her blanket that barely sheltered her from the hard wooden floor. She held the necklace around her neck tight, and she frowned.

The image of her mother disappearing played on a loop all night, and it settled in nicely to the gut feeling of the lack of her brothers presence.

Persephone didn't sleep on her first night at camp.

PERSEPHONE TURNED TO THE FEELING OF A HAND LANDING ON HER SHOULDER. Wasn't too pleasant.

"Seph."

Persephone looked up, and saw Luke. Her eyes widened as she sat up, her forehead colliding with his at the action. "Ow." She said with a frown.

"Shit, sorry." Luke held his hand to her forehead instead of his own, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"I'm fine. What's up?" The blonde furrowed her eyebrows as she looked to the boy with confusion.

Luke dropped his hand to his side with a subtle smile. "Your brothers awake."

Persephone was up and out of the cabin in under a minute, and she was at the big house even faster, even though it was technically three minutes away.

Persephone pushed the door open with urgency, and when she heard nothing at all, she frowned.